NFL legend Deion Sanders — or “Coach Prime,” as commentators have taken to calling him — was hired to revive the flagging fortunes of the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team.
It started off well enough in 2023, with a bevy of players that Sanders had imported from other schools — including two of his sons, one of whom was the starting quarterback. That seemed a little fishy, but it seemed to work at first. The school reeled off three straight wins, one over a ranked team, No. 17 TCU. Then reality hit, and the team lost eight of its last nine games.
And if Prime’s second season at the helm started with a win, it was hardly an impressive one. What’s more, he lent even more credence to the fact that his two kids — far from being there on talent alone — are merely nepo babies whose dad will defend them at all costs, including when they commit a flagrant, needless penalty.
In a battle of two programs whose mascot is based on the bovine species Bison bison, the Buffaloes barely held off the North Dakota State Bison, 31-26, according to ESPN.
Colorado was down by three at the half to the Bison, who play in the second-tier NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, or FCS. The Buffaloes, meanwhile, not only play in the top-tier Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, they play in a so-called “Power 5” conference — in this case, the Big 12, a conference that has four teams in the top 25.
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To put this in perspective: A Power 5 school in the FBS is where you go if you’re angling to get drafted by an NFL team and score a multimillion signing bonus. An FCS school in North Dakota is where you go when you want to tell your future buddies in middle management at Verizon that you once almost beat a Deion Sanders-coached University of Colorado team.
As for Sanders’ progeny, meanwhile, it was a mixed bag. Starting QB Shedeur Sanders had impressive numbers, going 26-34 for 445 yards and four touchdowns, albeit with one interception. Credit where credit is due, but again — this is North Dakota State University. There are serious questions as to whether Shedeur Sanders is Power 5 starting material, and if he’s not lighting up an FCS defense like he’s Joe Montana in “Tecmo Super Bowl” for the NES, those questions still remain.
(In fairness to Shedeur, his one interception came on the flukiest of ball bounces.)
It didn’t help Colorado’s cause, either, that North Dakota State QB Cam Miller had an impressive 277 yards on 18-22 passing, as well as 81 yards on the ground.
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And then there’s Shilo Sanders, the Buffaloes’ safety and Deion’s other kid on the team.
Estimates of Shilo’s value vary significantly. Some have him as a potential 2025 NFL draft pick, while others have labeled him a daddy’s boy with significant holes in his game — particularly a tendency to attempt risky tackles and a slew of off-the-field problems, including a bankruptcy filing and allegations of assault and threatening behavior.
It also doesn’t help his case that he’s openly compared himself to Bronny James‘ nepo baby situation — in a positive light. “If my dad can LeBron James that thang, that’d be great,” he joked last month.
Well, I’ll give Coach Prime this much: He certainly was LeBron James-ing that thang on Wednesday, seeming to protest an obvious after-the-play penalty on Shilo that likely cost the Buffaloes three points.
With a little under seven minutes left in the first half, North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller, flushed out of the pocket by a strong Colorado rush on a 3rd-and-6, threw a low pass to the right sideline to running back Barika Kpeenu that was well off the mark.
That should have been fourth down at the Colorado 19 yard line — except Shilo Sanders decided that Kpeenu needed a hard hit long after the play was over:
A late hit by Colorado’s Shilo Sanders gives North Dakota State 1st-and-goal (on what would’ve been 4th-and-6 ). pic.twitter.com/lObLmGWBHu
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 30, 2024
The mistake could have been a lot worse for Colorado, as North Dakota State had to settle for a field goal after getting a fresh set of downs. Yet, as you can see in the third clip in this Instagram post by ESPN, Sanders père seemed shocked — shocked! — that his son was called for this:
Perhaps he was frustrated that his son would make such a stupid move. Then again, this is Coach Prime we’re talking about, so what are the odds? (I’m sure the Iowa State football team knows.)
The point is, the season opener for Colorado didn’t look good for Coach Prime, both on a professional and a personal level — especially as it regards his kids. He’s gone from the hottest thing in Power 5 college football to that little league coach who insists on putting his twins at the top of the pitching rotation even though neither one can get it over the plate.
Yes, Shedeur and Shilo are more talented than that. But their father keeps on touting them as next-level material — and not only are there significant holes in their games that aren’t getting fixed, we’ve seen this (admittedly very talented) team blow games they should have won because of sloppy play. Like, you know, hitting an opposing RB out of bounds approximately six minutes after the play was over and when the pass that was thrown toward him wasn’t even close to being a completion.
And if North Dakota State was a tough hurdle for this squad, just remember that it only gets rougher when they start playing teams that are on the same level they’re supposed to be playing at. Try as he might, Prime ain’t going to “LeBron James that thang.”
